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I've had this happy glow both today and last Monday after class. And it's just because I've had good classes in the sense that I'm learning more aikido from a point where I know enough to start playing...which is always fun...

It's also it's just at a point where I'm so comfortable with the people and there're are enough people who are just obviously happy to see me and I them...that nice glow only really comes from that kind of community spirit that's been built over years. And since that's been rather hard won, i treasure it all the more.

And then i thought, there are very few areas in my life, where it's been so easy and so rewarding to build this up...as long as I worked steadily at it. The beginning was hard but because I loved the art itself enough, that alone was enough to get me through it week after week. Other areas of my life still take a lot of hard work and it's like ploughing in rocky ground...no matter how hard I work, nothing much seems to grow and flower but scraggly little plants which are barely getting by. Aikido was like ploughing in rich soil...it still took lots of hard work to get by but the plant that grew and grew made it all worth while.

So it's just nice to have this sweet spot in my life that I can go to several times a week to recharge.